Waking
by Takada Saiko
Summary: No one would tell him anything, and finally he ripped the wrappings from its secure placement. Nothing.  Auggie directly after Iraq. Could be read with 'Coffee Run,' but doesn't have to be. R


A/N: Wrote this last night at work... I'm still a little iffy on writing anything too concrete about exactly what caused Auggie's blindness from the explosion... They haven't said, and from my brief internet searches it really looks like permeant flash blindness is the only possibility... I'm sure I'm wrong lol.

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**Waking**

Waking had been a strange sensation. He was sure that he was awake, but unsure why his eyes refused to open. He reached a tentative hand up to his face, groping at the gauze that covered his eyes. Why was that there? What had happened? He heard people speaking in foreign languages. Was that German? Wasn't he in Iraq?

"Mr. Anderson, you should not remove the gauze yet," a thickly accented voice instructed him, but Auggie never spoke with him. His only acknowledgement was to allow his hands to drop down at his sides once more and he fell back into unconsciousness.

He dreamed of fire, white light, and heat. He woke often with a scream dying in his throat and images of a dead dog on the side of the road. He really was only half aware of what was happening as they shuffled him from hospital to hospital. The migraines took care of any alertness for hours on end.

Then finally they'd transferred him back to the States. Walter Reed. Something familiar. The gauze still covered his eyes and he couldn't get any of the doctors abroad to tell him exactly what was going on. There had been an explosion, yes, he knew that. The last thing he remembered was a bright light and the sensation of flying backwards.

"Mr. Anderson, please do not tamper with the gauze."

He'd expected some answers when he'd come home. He'd told himself that Joan would be there, tapping her heels with that stern look that said "I told you that going to Iraq was a bad idea" on her face, but she was not. No one would tell him anything, and finally he ripped the wrappings from its secure placement.

Nothing.

Auggie blinked against the nothingness. Panic began to set in and he twisted around in the bed, trying to decide the quickest way out of it without ripping various IVs from their place.

"Ma'am! Please, if you're not family, you really shouldn't!" he heard from what might have been the hallway. "We've done everything you asked, but please, will you-"

Auggie heard what sounded like a door being thrown open and the steady click of heels. They stopped when their owner saw him wide-awake, gauze gone, and dark eyes staring unfocustly into nothing.

"Auggie?" There was a pause, and the tapping of heels before a hand rested very lightly on his shoulder, causing him to startle. "It's Joan."

A shaky breath was released and Auggie tilted his head toward his boss. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded, his voice low and quivering, but he wasn't sure if it were from fear or anger. "No one will tell me anything."

"We asked the doctors not to inform you until they were absolutely sure…"

"Of what?"

Joan paused and her grip on his shoulder tightened. "Auggie, I really don't know how to tell you this…" She shifted, seemingly uncomfortable. "The explosion in Tikrit… It took your sight, Auggie. The doctor's can't repair the damage."

A small sigh escaped Auggie's lips and the trembling finally ceased. He didn't like being kept out of the loop.

Now he knew.

"Auggie?" Joan called to him.

"I guess this means I have to look for a new line of work, huh?" Auggie asked through a short laugh.

Joan stood very still for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I've pulled some strings. If you're willing to go through the therapy that the Agency sets up for you and the classes to learn Braille, we should be able to set you up rather nicely with an office as the head of tech ops."

"A desk job."

"It's better than leaving entirely, isn't it?"

Auggie nodded, feeling very strange in the darkness. "How soon can I get started?"

"I'll get things in the works. Hopefully within the next couple of days."

"Just get me back to work, Joan," Auggie murmured, settling back against the pillows. He'd given too much up for this job. He wasn't going to allow this to destroy it. He could focus on his work. He could focus on setting things up and life could continue again. He heard Joan acknowledge his words and tell him to get some rest before she left him alone.

Auggie took a deep breath. "Just another challenge," he whispered into the inky blackness. He just hoped he wasn't fooling himself.

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A/N: Reviews are my addiction, please feed the author.


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